Oldiesmann

I also had the fortune of riding SOB both pre- and post-"loopectomy". I absolutely loved the ride in its original form. Sure, it was rough, but what else could you expect from a ride with those stats? After the loop was removed, I avoided the ride for a couple of years due to reports on this forum that it just wasn't as good and that the trains shuffled on the track. Finally, in 2008 or so, I decided to give it another shot, and decided that the reports here were accurate. Little did I know that the ride would close again (permanently?) less than a year later. When the accident occurred in 2006, I was on vacation with my parents visiting family in south-central Illinois, and it was so significant that it even made the news in Mt. Vernon, IL (a town about halfway between Holiday World and Six Flags St. Louis). I was rather surprised at this news, as I thought the daily track inspections would have caught something like this long before it became a problem.

Where are they getting that it was given only one chance? After the loop was removed, it operated for most of the 2007 season, all of the 2008 season and part of the 2009 season before it was closed again. In my book that should be hundreds, if not thousands, of chances.

Definitely going to have to make it to the zoo soon. It's sad that I live 10 minutes from it and rarely even go once a year.

My sister and I will be down there tonight. I'll be sure to say hi if I see you!

I don't remember too much about HB as we only visited the park once a year and by the time I was old enough to have a good memory of most of the attractions, we had outgrown most of them. I remember riding Beastie when I was 6 (I believe this was before it had seatbelts as well), remember parts of the Smurf ride (this was a favorite of ours) and also have vague memories of the cauldrons, puppet theater and slide (though I don't remember if the slide was in HB or if it had been moved to Coney by that time).

Interesting that there's also no mention of the other theme park operators who were supposedly interested in the property. It's clear that the locals want an amusement park. The fair board needs to find a way to make things more appealing to potential lessees, rather than trying to decide what else the property can be used for.

At least the Knott's one was localized. I'm also getting tired of seeing the same "stock" footage used for every park. At least take the time to show off each individual park, instead of showing a coaster that can't even be found at Kings Island.

Just saw this on TV.

From what I understand, they turn people away at the tolls, not at the admissions area. I don't know how they determine when they can let more guests in either.

Maybe aliens are responsible for that guy's hair as well...

Impressive resumes for all of them. Sounds like they'll be great additions!

Story has now been moved to the correct section on Screamscape, but it still says "Camden Park". The source of the confusion here could be that the park is located near Camden, NJ (Clementon is a suburb of Camden apparently).

It's possible that they were sight-seeing tours, as both Blue Ash Airport and the Lebanon/Warren County Regional airport are fairly close to KI. The Geico plane is a common sight around here. I see it flying around downtown Cincinnati all the time when the Reds are in town.

I realize that, but with a different person in charge of things now, the past doesn't necessarily indicate what will happen in the future.

I'd like to see an Action Zone revamp, which includes having the park finally make a decision about Son of Beast. Three of the rides in AZ will be celebrating major anniversaries in 2013 - Congo Falls (25 years), Flight Deck (20 years) and Delirium (10 years), so it's time to give that area some much-needed attention. They could probably fit a good wild mouse coaster in where Thunder Alley is now, but taking out a pay-to-play attraction for one that's free just doesn't seem like something the park would do, no matter how little they're making from it.

The sad thing is it took me a bit to realize that he had his facts mixed up. I sat there wondering why anyone would call in a bomb threat at Camden Park - especially when most people in New Jersey have probably never even heard of the place. Then I realized it mentioned Splash World. Having been to Camden Park, I know for a fact that the only thing they have that even resembles a water park is a log flume...

Once again it appears that Lance doesn't bother thinking about things before he posts them. If you read the article he linked to, it was actually at a place called "Clementon Park". The story as he posted it doesn't even make sense, as there is no place called "Splash World" at Camden Park. Article he linked to: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8713749

That's the standard "parking" pattern when they close the ride down - one train halfway up the hill, one in the station and one on the back brakes outside the station. It's likely done that way because it's the only way they can unload the final train of riders without having to wait for an empty train to cycle all the way through.

If they meet capacity, they temporarily stop allowing additional guests into the park, until management determines that enough people have left to allow more in. It doesn't happen very often, but it has happened in the past, particularly when Paramount did the "Nights of Fire" promotions on the 4th of July weekend.

Morgan RV Resorts bought the park from the family that owned it several years ago, and has done little to keep the park up to what it apparently once was. There was a big employee protest last year (see this story for more), and reviews of the park have been anything but positive (see the park's listing on TripAdvisor and/or the recent trip report that I linked to in my first post).

Interesting way to draw attention to the park's features and get fans involved, especially considering the negative publicity the park has received the past few years. Unfortunately, a recent trip report from the park indicates that things haven't gotten any better...

Google is your friend... http://www.ohioslargestplayground.com/sports-participant-planner/upcoming-events/ki-baseball/

Last night, one of The Beast ride ops was laughing that she'd just told a train full of riders that the red train is the fastest train they have.

I can't believe she struggled with that. That's by far one of the easier German words to pronounce (at least compared to words like "Streichholzschächtelchen", which means "small box of matches").

I was also part of that group last year. Lots of fun indeed!